A Zootopian Mix-Tape
by Raimar
Summary: A series of one-shots with a couple of longer stories mixed in, mostly based around songs heard on the radio.
1. Chapter 1

**My take on the 'Every mammal is given a watch at birth. Said watch tells them when they'll meet their soul-mate' story that I've seen floating around.**

 **Also, Happy New Year!**

* * *

"What you think you're doing, Nick?" Despite the fact that the small studio apartment was situated in Sahara square, cold from the late December night permeated the room. The great thermal walls of Zootopia had been turned off earlier in the week for routine maintenance, making the entire city subject to the whims of Mother Nature. Said whims currently dictated that the city should be almost entirely shut down due to the blizzard raging outside. Many mammals of the city were fine with the new situation – those in Tundra Town were used to such conditions year round, whereas the more temperate zones of Zootopia had been naturally cooling on their own, leading to most of the residents' winter coats coming in. The two foxes in the apartment, however, were not so lucky, and were coping with the weather in their own ways. Finnick, the fennec fox, was currently bundled in all the blankets of the apartment as he sat in front of the television, ensuring that his outsides were warm while he played his video games.

The half empty bottle of whiskey next to him ensured that his insides were warm as well.

Finnick's flatmate, the larger red fox named Nick who Finnick was currently yelling at, had his own method of dealing with the cold. "I'm getting ready for my date with Skye."

In Finnick's opinion, Nick stayed warm mainly through his delusions; he wasn't currently in the world where cold reigned supreme. Shaking his head, he turned back to the TV. "Whatever, weirdo." He'd resumed the game for all of five seconds before his head whipped back to his companion. "Wait, Skye? Fiona Skye, of _Savage Skies_? _That's_ who you think your soulmate is?"

"Has to be. Think about it, it makes perfect sense." The larger vulpine hummed thoughtfully as he looked at his reflection, holding up first one tie then another. "What colour dress do you think she'll be wearing?"

"This aughta be good." The controller rolled off the pile of blankets as the fennec rotated in his cocoon to face his roommate. " _How's_ this make _any_ kinda sense?"

"Well," the larger fox held up first a red tie, and then a light blue one. "First, we're both foxes."

"Bravo, ya idjit. You figured it out."

Nick stalwartly ignored his small friend's kind words. "How many interspecies couples do you see walking around out there?" He paused, speaking more to himself. "Red or black are always a good bet, but blue could bring out the colour of her eyes…" He turned to dig around in his closet before continuing his original line of thought. "Not many, is the correct answer. Thus, more likely than not, my soulmate will be a fox as well."

"And the fact that she no longer has _her_ watch?" The fennec pointedly looked at the back of the door his roommate was currently digging behind, on which hung said room-mate's poster for _Savage Skies_. As was expected, the figures in the poster hadn't changed at all since it was first mounted, and the vixen's wrist was bare of any adornment, soul-mate watch or otherwise.

"Movie magic, my friend." Finnick was sure of it now; Nick was delusional. The larger fox had since stepped _out_ of the closet, with ties of all three aforementioned colours draped around his neck. "You don't believe mammals can fly, or shoot lasers from their eyes, do you? If movies can do that, then they can certainly remove something as small as a watch." Incapable of deciding which tie to wear, the red fox opted to worry about it later, instead swinging his suit jacket across his shoulders. "Wish me luck!"

"You don't need luck!" Finnick hollered, "You need a shrink!" His words of wisdom fell on no ears, sadly, as the door to their flat had already swung shut. "Idiot's gonna wind up with his ass in jail," the tiny desert fox grumbled as he turned back to his game. "See if _I_ bail his ass out again."

* * *

The penthouse suite of the Royal Palm's Resort was _the_ place to be on New Years Eve. From tycoons and moguls to actors and artists and those who report about all the above, everyone who was anyone was there.

And Nicholas Wilde was smoozing with the best of them.

Just _how_ he got an invitation to said party, he would never reveal, but darn it if he wasn't going to live it up for all it was worth. While it was true, he wasn't the normal calibre for such soiree's, he knew how to _act_ it. Yes, there were mammals here who acted for a living, but with his experiences hustling, Nick acted for _life_. And thinking about it, with his hustles, he likely made just as much money as anyone else here, if not more.

Snagging a pair of champagne glasses from a passing waiter, the fox began his prowl, hunting for his prey. Ever since he'd worked out the exact time that his soul-mate watch said he would find 'the one', he'd been ecstatic. New Years in Zootopia was always a blast, but New Years in Zootopia when you had the right contacts was an event to remember, and with his time-piece telling him that midnight would be the magic moment, he _knew_ it would be a meeting for the ages.

But with three minutes left on the clock, Nick was beginning to get nervous. _Where is she?_ Fiona Skye _had_ to be here; it was _the_ event of the year. That, and she was hosting the darned thing.

He was just about to down both party beverages due to nerves alone when, like the parting of the curtains at show-time, the eddies of the crowd flowed and revealed… _her._

There she was, Fiona Skye. An arctic vixen known for her works on the silver screen and imaginations of young males everywhere, she was stunning in her black evening gown. Even with the pane of glass separating him from her, Nick could swear that he could smell her scent, that intoxicating aroma that was gifted to the queen of mammal-kind for him alone. A smile pulled at the corner of the mouth as he saw his quarry, leaning against the outside balcony railing, idly glance at her wrist, where – _yes!_ Despite his room-mate's arguments, a watch yet adorned her exquisite, perfect appendage!

Nick glanced at his own watch – less than a minute to go. Now was the moment, he knew, as his feet made their way across the lush carpet of their own accord, _now_ was the meeting that would be talked about for ages to come.

So lost was he in his upcoming date with destiny, it wasn't until his name had been called for the third time that Nick finally reacted to the mammal behind him. "Yes, what is it?"

It was then that the fox in question realized a number of things. One: No-one at this party should know his actual name. Two: By answering, he'd just blown his cover. Three: The champagne glasses were now lying in pieces on the floor, ensuring that Four: Every mammal in the room was now looking at him. It didn't help that Five: His arms were pinned behind his back, as the harsh, cool metallic feel of paw-cuffs slipped around his wrists.

"Nicholas Wilde, you are under arrest for charges of breaking and entering, theft, impersonating an officer, impeding an on-going investigation, defacing public property, public indecency, public urination, felony tax evasion, and–" Nick was spun around by his captor at this point, and as his gaze met the stunning violet eyes of the – dare he say it – _cute_ bunny (presumably) police officer before him, he felt something _click_. Turning from her gaze, he looked at the floor behind him, where… Yes, yes that _was_ in fact his watch on the ground. Looking back forward, he saw a similar watch at the feet of the rabbit before him. A sense of dread overcame him as his gaze was drawn first to the large grandfather clock in the corner – Midnight – and then back to the officer, who was looking at him with a similar look on her face as was on his own.

One thought was shared by the both of them.

" _No!_ "

* * *

Fiona looked back over her shoulder as the sounds of a large commotion broke out from inside, and smiled. There, closing the glass door to the room behind him, was her buck.

"Sorry I'm late, love," Jack smiled as he tugged at his shirt sleeves. The black-striped white rabbit approached his co-star, lover, wife, and soul-mate, giving her a peck on the cheek.

The vixen affected a sigh as she glanced at the watch on her wrist; as opposed to the ones every mammal received at birth, this one actually kept proper time. "It's past midnight, Jack." With an elaborate twirl, she turned away from her rabbit, leaning against the balcony railing. "I'd waited all year for this moment, and now it's ruined!" Fiona couldn't suppress the bubble of warmth that rose in her chest as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist, or the satisfied purr as a pair of lips kissed their way up her exposed back.

"Let's not keep you waiting any longer then, shall we?"

The romantic moment was spoiled as another wave of noise rose from inside. Curiously glaring over her shoulder, the arctic vixen raised a brow at the row that appeared to be occurring between a hand-cuffed fox and a grey bunny. "What's going on?"

"Hmm?" Looking up from his ministrations, Jack shrugged, poorly concealing a smirk. "Well, it would appear that an undercover officer uncovered an undercover crook, only for both of them to uncover that they're destined to be together."

"Oh?" Fiona recognized the tone that her lover was using; he knew more than he was letting on. "This all just _happened_ to occur, did it?"

"Of course!" Returning his attentions to his affections towards his mate, Jack murmured against her fur, "Although I _may_ have pointed out an uninvited guest to an unassuming rabbit inside."

Another bubble of laughter burst from the vixen. "And just how _did_ such an uninvited guest come to be here, hmm?"

"Must have got an invitation from one of our mutual friends, who _may_ have informed a certain somebunny about said uninvited guest's date with destiny."

Fiona's head fell back as she laughed unabashedly at the sky. "Oh, Jack! You're such a romantic!"

"Guilty as charged!" Jack smirked as he wrapped an arm around his vixen's waist, the pair falling silent as they watched fireworks burst over the city below.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Head-cannon for this piece: Jack and Judy were childhood friends, thus how Judy got invited. Fru-fru (Daughter of Mr. Big, Nick's boss) was introduced to Jack via Judy (Fru having been a fan of his). Through her, Jack learned of Nick, his time piece, and was able to give the fox the invitation.**

 **Just wanted to wrap up some loose ends there.**


	2. Savior of the Skies

**Thanks to all who favorite/followed this story!**

 **PixeLPaladin: Thanks for liking the story! ...I think? And by all means, write! I look forward to seeing what you come up with!**

 **More after the story.**

* * *

This early in the morning, 'cold' was a suitable description for how his day had been so far. So too was 'damp', and 'I-swear-to-god-it's-too-early-to-be-awake'. It didn't matter that as a reporter, he was used to working all hours of the day; a rabbit was supposed to be allowed to sleep at some point, darn it!

Dew still clung to the short-cropped blades of grass, yet unevaporated by the still sleeping sun. _Why does the sun get to sleep when_ I _have to be awake?_ Pondered the tired reporter as he trudged across the field, his steps being the only disturbance to the crystalline droplets in his wake. Huffing a breath into his cold hands, he opened the door, welcoming the infinitesimal change in temperature the closed structure granted.

The building itself was quite small – a Quonset hut on a field at the edge of the city, the structure was barely large enough for the plane it housed and the small workbench at the rear.

One would never have imagined that it housed one of the most famous planes of their time, the flier of which was currently precariously perched on one of the wings, upper torso buried in the flying machine's engine.

Erik Longfoot coughed lightly, clasping his hands behind his back.

The ratcheting noises from within the engine continued.

Erik coughed again, louder this time.

The noises stopped – Erik smiled – and a hand groped blindly along the wing, found its target – a wrench – and retreated once more to its oily cave.

Erik frowned. "Pardon me!" The reporter called out over the noise, which once more ceased. This time, Erik was pleased to note a pair of long ears perk up from the depths of the machine. "I'm looking for a Jude Hopps?"

"No-one here by that name!" The lid to the engine compartment slammed shut, and a pair of definitively female legs draped over the edge of the wing. Following them up, Erik was met by a set of the most mesmerizing amethyst eyes he'd ever seen, and not only for the fact that they were the _only_ amethyst eyes he'd ever seen. Wiping the grease from her hands onto her coveralls, the grey-furred bunny pushed herself off the plane, striding towards the reporter with her now clean-ish paw held out. "But there is a _Judy_ Hopps!"

"Pleasure." Returning her pawshake, Erik mentally chastised himself. Somehow, despite all the research he'd done before-hand on the so-called 'Savior of the Skies', he'd somehow failed to dig up the fact that she was, in fact, a _she_. Determined to recover from his slip-up, he nodded to the table set up in the corner. "Shall we get started?"

"Of course!" Judy bounded over to the corner.

Erik, ever the charming gentle-rabbit, pulled out a seat for the female pilot.

Judy, ever the oblivious bunny, skipped right past Erik to the workbench, where a stainless-steel coffeepot was percolating. "Coffee?"

Self-consciously taking his seat, the reporter nodded. "Please. Two sugars, if you've got them."

By the time Judy had returned with the drinks, the tawny rabbit was looking more comfortable in his seat; notepad at the ready, pen tucked behind his ear, the buck nodded his appreciation to the doe. "Thank you again for taking the time out of your busy schedule to let me interview you."

Judy laughed, waving aside his gratitude. "It's not a problem, really! I've always been a big fan of the _Gazette_."

"Right, yes." The buck looked at the table in confusion for a moment before rolling his eyes, grabbing his pen from behind his ear. "So," he scribbled at the top of the page, nodding as the ink flowed freely, "If you don't mind, I'd like to start from the beginning; a suitable place for a biographical piece, wouldn't you say?" The reporter's laugh, meant to cut the tension, came out rather flat. When Judy added her own voice to the laughter, however, it came out much more naturally.

"That sounds reasonable enough!" Looking up to the ceiling as she gathered her thoughts, it took the doe only a second before she began her tale. "Well, I grew up in Bunnyburrow, a small farming town just over two hundred miles from here. My dad owns one of the larger farms in the region, but was never willing to spring the money to get proper maintenance done on the farm vehicles. We all did what we could, but I became the farms unofficial mechanic." The doe shrugged as she took a sip from her drink. "The old machines just seemed to like me."

Erik nodded, his head bent over his pad of paper as he scribbled furiously away. "Right, right… What inspired you to become a pilot?"

Here, Judy actually had to stop and think before answering. "Well, that's a bit of a tale… As a kit, I always wanted to do something more interesting, more exciting, than farming. Oh, don't get me wrong, I love my family, but I never felt like I fit in with the family business, like I wasn't actually making a difference in the grand scheme of things. I'd always heard of Zootopia, and how anyone could be anything there, and so figured that would be my best place to look for something worthwhile to do with my life."

"And how old were you at this point?"

"Oh, about seventeen or eighteen, I think."

At this, Erik looked up in shock. "Awfully young for a doe to be headed out on her own; what did your parents think about this?"

Up until that question, Judy had had a rather happy, almost care-free air about her, but upon hearing the question, her attitude dimmed slightly. "Well, my mom had passed away a couple of years before that, and my dad…" Mustering a smile, she raised her gaze from the tabletop to meet that of the reporter across from her. "Family's always mattered to me. I'd never do something that my dad wouldn't approve of."

Nodding as he scribbled down the last line, Erik looked back up, tapping his pen against the pad. "So your father was alright with you just up and leaving like that?"

Judy merely shrugged. "Well, he had my one hundred and thirty-seven siblings to help out around the farm, and my mom had always been the more independent of my parents; maybe he saw a bit of her in me? That, and he could never say no to 'the look'." Her eyes almost seemed to double in size as a fine sheen of liquid gathered on the surface, Judy batting her eyelids at the reporter while giving her best 'sad-yet-hopeful' expression.

Erik laughed at that, nodding as he set his pen down. "I can see why not!"

Blinking away the excess moisture, Judy's smile returned. "Anyway, he gave me a couple hundred dollars to see me set in Zootopia until I got my feet back under me." Her smile soured, turning into a grimace. "However, it wasn't long after I got there, that I found it wasn't much to my liking either."

"Oh? Why not?"

Judy deliberated, head bobbing from side to side as she struggled to find the right words. "Well, back home, everyone had time to stop and say hi to everyone else… Everyone knew everyone else, even if only by their family's reputation. In Zootopia, though, everyone was always in such a hurry, heading no-where at all, it seemed." A wry smile crossed the young doe's features. "That, and work was work, and what I could get in the city wasn't too different from back home."

Writing away once, more, Erik nodded, not even lifting his gaze from the paper before him. "And so from there…?"

"Well, one day, I'd stopped in at a café for a cup of coffee, not unlike this one here, when I overheard these two young fellows – I think they were deer – talking about how there was hiring going on down at the air base. So, I think to myself, 'That sounds like exciting work! Could be the adventure I've been looking for!' So, I head off to sign up!"

The reporter nodded, writing away, and then stopped with a frown. His amber gaze quickly flickered up to meet Judy's own. "Not to sound speciest or anything, since, you know," he quickly gestured to himself, a rabbit not unlike herself, "but I thought that smaller folk like us weren't typically allowed to fly planes."

Judy snorted at this, crossing her arms with an indignant huff. "That's the line they fed me, too, _despite_ the fact that I've flown a crop-duster before for my dad's farm." A wicked gleam entered the doe's eye as she smirked. "So, a week later, I signed back up, claiming to be a hare that hadn't finished her growth spurt yet!"

"Ah, clever!" Erik nodded, gazing off into the distance. "Hares are in a different size category, closer to foxes and otters and the like… And that worked?"

"Yeah!" Judy nodded enthusiastically for a moment before her ears flopped down behind her head. "For about a month. Fortunately, the old buffalo who was the flight instructor must've seen some potential in me, seeing as he made a case for me and let me stay on!"

"So, what happened next?"

"Well…" Judy looked abashed at what she was about to say next, causing Erik to lean forward eagerly. "The air force, they've got some pretty dumb rules. One day, I was out on a solo flight, and saw some pirates attacking a merchant blimp. Normally, regulations say we aren't supposed to enter engagements without equal firepower, be it numbers or guns, and seeing as there were three of them and only one of me, I was _supposed_ to radio in and wait for reinforcements. The thing is, I was ten minutes out, and the blimp wasn't going to last ten more minutes."

Erik scribbled furiously. "So you went in by yourself? One against three?"

Judy sat up straight, proud as could be. "You bet your lucky foot I did! Saved him all by myself, too!"

The reporter returned the aviatrix's grin, before frowning. "That still doesn't explain how you were discharged."

With that, the wind was taken out of Judy's sails. "Well," she bitterly began, "the folks back at base weren't too pleased with how I handled the situation. Sure, I saved the civilians without any casualties, but I threw the regulations all to the wind to do so. The air force is supposed to work as a unit, right? And what good's a unit if they've got members who don't listen to their superiors' orders. So, I was let go." Her grimace grew more pronounced. "The old buffalo who'd stuck up for me was reprimanded, too; they said it was his fault that I was there in the first place."

Erik let out a disgruntled noise at that. "Now that doesn't seem fair at all, if you ask me!" His scribbling paused as he recalled something. "Wait… the plane you were flying belonged to the army, yes?" Judy nodded her confirmation. "So, you had to give it back when you left, right?"

Judy laughed. "Well, it was hardly _mine_ in the first place, but yes; the old girl stayed when I left."

"Then how are you flying a plane now? With only a couple of hundred dollars, you couldn't possibly have had enough to afford one of your own."

At this, Judy gave the reporter a conspiratorial wink. "That's the question! Well, not long after I was discharged, I was hired by an anonymous party to be an independent contractor."

The reporter across from the doe squinted at the bunny in question, confusion clear in his features. "You were hired… to be an 'independent contractor'? Seems rather oxymoronic, don't you think?"

Thoughts momentarily lost in the past, Judy blinked at the reporter in confusion. "I'm sorry, did you just call me 'moronic'?"

"No no no, not at all!" Erik frantically waved his paws before himself. "Oxymoronic! Two contradictory terms, like 'jumbo shrimp' or 'deafening silence'!"

"Free press?" Judy smirked.

Blinking at his interviewee's lack of hostility, Erik returned the look with a wink. "Military intelligence. What I was saying, is that it sounds like someone hired you to hire yourself out."

Nodding as she thought about it, the corner of Judy's mouth scrunched up in a slight grimace. "I guess that was the wrong term for it… It was more like they hired me as a guard for everyone, ensuring the skies around Zootopia were kept safe."

Erik nodded as he turned back to his writing. "And thus the legend was born."

Judy idly played with her ears, eyes bashfully cast down at the tabletop. "Well, I'm not sure I'd call myself a _legend_ …"

"I'm not sure what else to call you!" Erik countered. Realizing he may have been laying the praise on a bit thick, he coughed, looking over his notes once more. "How… How'd the folks back home feel about all of this, when they heard?"

If anything, Judy seemed to shrink in on herself even more. "Well, to be frank with you, I wasn't too keen on telling my dad about it… I was worried that he'd be worried, you know? But he was surprisingly fine with it! Well, maybe not _fine_ , but he talked some sense into me, said that it wasn't all that different from what I'd set out to do originally. Life of adventure and action and all of that."

"I thought your name was Jude?"

Judy blinked at the reporter in confusion. "What?"

Seeing his joke fell flat, Erik tugged nervously at the collar of his shirt. "Well, you said to be Frank with me… sounded like you were saying _you_ were Frank… It was meant to come across as a joke. Surely you've heard ones like it before."

Judy leveled a slight glare at the buck across from her. "My name's Judy, not Shirley." It took Erik a moment, but when he realized that the tables had been turned on him, he let out a hearty laugh. "There's a 'y' on the end there, most folks seem to forget. Technically 'Judith Laverne Hopps' is my full name, but most of my friends call me 'Judy'. Somehow, people can't seem to wrap their heads around the fact that not all pilots are males, though."

"I see, sorry." Erik took exaggerated care to write Judy's name down properly. "So, you've talked a fair bit about your family back home, but not too much about anyone else; are there other people of note in your life? Close friends, boyfriend…?" The buck took extreme care to keep his voice neutral at the end, fighting a rising blush as he did so.

Judy, however, didn't seem to notice the buck's worries. Instead, she pondered the ceiling. "I suppose that's true! Well, as I said, my family's always been very important to me, so I guess it's only right that I talk about them when I'm talking about me. As for friends… Yes, yes I'd say I've had a couple of close ones, both in Zootopia and back in the Burrows. I still keep contact with a few of them, too!"

As if on cue, a knock sounded from the door to the hanger. "Carrots? You in here?" The door opened, and in entered a russet fox, blinking against the bright light's sharp contrast to the pre-dawn exterior. As his vision cleared, however, his ears immediately perked up. "Carrots!"

"Slick!" Bounding from her seat, Judy launched herself at the fox, clinging around his neck as the tod laughed, swinging her around in circles. Erik sat uncomfortably in his seat, watching the pair.

"So, is this one of the friends, or…?"

Releasing herself from the fox's grip, Judy wrapped an arm around the red mammal's waist, bringing the pair close. "Oh, yes! This here's Nick! He's been one of my closest friends for years!"

Erik eyed the other male warily. "So nothing more, then?"

"Nope! Just best pals, right Nick!" Oblivious as ever, Judy failed to notice the fox's jubilant expression slip slightly.

"Yup," Nick nodded, returning the reporters' scrutiny. "Nothing more."

Erik perked up considerably at the news. "Well, come on, then! Give me something to work with!" Readying his notepad, the reporter's eyes were glued to the fox. "Nick, was it? How long have you known Judy here?"

"Have I known Carrot's for a while? Yes, yes I have." Nick gave the reporter a smirk as the buck blinked at his pad, unsure of what to write down.

"So… any stories? Something for the public to relate to? Who _is_ Jude? …y."

Nick made a show of thinking before replying. "Well, her dad own's one of the largest farms in the Tri-Burrows, has too many siblings to count-"

Erik huffed, forcibly tossing his notebook onto the table before him as Judy laughed at the fox's side. "I've already heard all of this… Alright, Nick, what is it _you_ do?"

The fox half-heartedly shrugged. "I'm a salesman."

The reporter's foot began thumping against the hut's flooring. "And _what_ is it you sell?"

"Pastries."

Erik glowered at the smirking fox. _It's like pulling teeth with this guy!_ "So you're a baker, then?"

"Do I bake? No, no I do not."

Judy, taking pity on the poor buck, spoke up. "It's his cousin who's the baker; best baker in the Tri-Burrows! He's even started selling in Zootopia! That's what _this_ slick devil's doing out here!" Judy bumped her hip against the taller fox's – Nick, not expecting the contact, stumbled a step before retaliating with a smile. Despite being a fair bit smaller than her friend, Judy barely moved at the playful push.

"I see… So no… _personal_ stories? Funny anecdotes? Something for the readers to sink their teeth into?"

Nick considered his response for a moment, before perking up. Erik, ready for the first contribution from Judy's self-professed long-term friend, eagerly picked up his pad, pen poised and eyes glued to the vulpine, eager for his personal tales of the city's hero.

"Nope."

"Grah!" Erik was about ready to pull his ears out when Judy, frowning at her friend, spoke up.

"Well, wait a minute, Nick! What about that time I was napping in one of the trees in the orchard and you startled me?"

Nick shifted his gaze back and forth between Judy and the reporter before shrugging. "It's like she said. She was sleeping, I scared her."

Judy threw her head back with a laugh. "More like scared five years out of me! I fell out of the tree and broke my leg!" Turning to Erik, Judy wrapped Nick in a tighter hug. " _This_ big goof panicked _so_ much!"

The rabbits looked pointedly at the fox, clearly expecting the tod to continue the story. Which he did. In his own fashion. "I didn't _panic_ and what did you expect? It's what you get for sleeping half-way up a tree, Carrots."

Judy gave the fox a pointed look. "You panicked. You took me all the way to the hospital!"

"Your father would have killed me if I hadn't!"

Rolling her eyes, Judy smirked. "Right, my big ol' scary dad." Turning to the reporter, Judy cocked her head at the fox behind her. "What _this_ old lug isn't telling you is that the truck had been having some engine problems lately, and wouldn't start, so instead of doing the sensible thing and finding another car or calling an ambulance, he decided to run me the entire way there, carrying me in his arms!"

"You don't say!" Erik was gleefully writing in his notepad – _Finally, something juicy!_ "How far away was the hospital?"

"Normally about a ten-minute drive away."

The pen skittered across the page uncontrolled at that. "And he ran the entire way?" The buck once more gave Nick a 'look'. "Quite the friend you've got there!"

"You know it! Stuck with me through thick and thin!" Judy laughed as she hopped on the spot. "Ooh! Like the time we went down to Millers Pond to go swimming, but old Nick here forgot his trunks, so I…"

* * *

The rest of the interview had gone fairly uneventfully; Erik had gathered what he deemed to be enough information for the article, but had left his card with his personal and work number on it with Judy in case she thought of anything else she'd like to add. The sun had finally risen by the time the buck departed, the dew on the grass mostly gone and the early morning fog burned away entirely. The two friends were left alone in the hanger, Nick leaning against the fuselage while Judy perched on the wing, legs swinging under her.

"You alright there, Nick?" The doe cocked her head to the side, examining her friend. Normally, Nick would talk the ears off any mammal who'd care to listen, but earlier was odd. "You were awfully quiet back there."

Nick merely shrugged. "Didn't want to say anything bad about you."

Judy snorted at her friend. "That's never stopped you from teasing me before!" She lightheartedly ribbed.

Sighing, Nick cast his gaze at the wall before him. "That's different; between friends. This guy was a reporter, and you know how they are; they'll twist anything you say to what they want it to sound like. Didn't want to give him anything that would reflect badly on you."

Laughing, Judy pushed herself off the wing, landing beside the fox. "This is the _Gazette_ we're talking about! If they went spreading slander like that, they'd be out of business in a week! Can you imagine, though?" Judy clasped her paws before her chest, eyes shimmering. "The _Gazette_ wanted to do a story about _me!_ "

Nick gazed at the star struck bunny beside him, his gaze softening. "Yeah, I can," he said softly. "I can imagine you in papers all around the world." He chuffed a laugh. "All the more reason to keep my trap shut. Might slip up and make it sound like we're engaged now, or something!"

Laughing as she punched Nick on the shoulder, Judy missed how his eyes widened, face growing a touch more red than normal. "I'm a grown bunny, Nick! I don't need anyone looking out for me anymore!"

Silence reigned throughout the hanger as Nick carefully deliberated his next words. "It wouldn't hurt though, would it?"

Judy shrugged, propping herself against the fuselage next to the fox. "Sure, maybe when I'm old and grey and ready to settle down."

"You're already grey, though!" Playfully dodging the bunny's flurry of blows, Nick's expression grew more somber and serious. "…have you ever though of settling down, though? Getting married?"

Tossing her head from side to side, Judy quickly shook her denial. "Not too much. Gotta find the right mammal first. You?"

Nick's tail bristled as he looked at the rabbit beside him, startled by the change in questioning. "Me what?"

"Have _you_ ever thought of getting married and settling down, you dumb fox!"

Half-heartedly chuckling, Nick shrugged. "Already settled, aren't I?" He smiled as Judy nodded with a laugh beside him, the fox's gaze settling on the bunny. "A bit, I guess… I…"

Judy expectantly looked at the fox, waiting for him to continue. "What?"

"Never mind." Nick quickly shifted his gaze back to the wall. "You worried?"

"About what?"

"The war."

"Of course not!" Judy dismissively waved a paw through the air, letting out a light snort. "It's what I was born for! It's been my life for the past, what, five, six years?

Nick grimaced; the bunny never lacked enthusiasm, to the point of being obstinately headstrong at times. "Just… be careful, alright Fluff?"

Judy laughed as she shot the fox next to her a confident smirk. "It's not me you should be worrying about, it's the Preds! They've got no clue who they're headed for!"

"Promise."

Nick's tone made Judy pause, and she looked at the fox next to her; not merely see him there, but really _look_. His motto may have always been to never let others see that they got to him, but over the years the two had known each other, Judy learned how to see the real Nick, the one underneath, and for the first time that day, Judy really _saw_ Nick. The fox looked tired, as though he hadn't had a decent night's sleep in who knows how long, and worry weighed on him like an invisible shroud, pulling his shoulders down and eating away at his eyes. "What's this all about, Nick?"

"Nothing."

Now Judy knew something was _really_ off with her fox friend, and thinking about it, she was surprised she hadn't picked up on it earlier. Nick was always a charismatic fellow, able to talk the ears off an elephant if given half an opportunity, but all day his responses had been short and clipped. "Nick?" Judy stepped in front of the fox, pinning him against the side of her plane with her gaze.

Nick, for his part, tried to deflect her concern. "I… we worry about you, alright?"

Judy's gaze turned into a light glare. "Nick."

The fox huffed a sigh as the rabbit's thumping foot began stirring up the light layer of dust on the floor. " _I_ worry about you, alright? Hearing all these stories about you up there, risking your life for mammals you don't even know…"

Laughing as her tension washed away, Judy shook her head. "Of course you worry about be, Slick! We're friends, it's only right! And would you rather I left them to their fates?"

While Judy appeared more at ease, Nick looked more and more like he was being backed into a corner; his fur was starting to bristle, his eyes darted about the hanger, looking for an escape. Seeing none aside from through the rabbit before him, the fox seemed to deflate before his friend's eyes. "No, I… it's… I love you, alright?"

It felt as though a ball of hot ice had suddenly formed in the rabbit's chest. "I… what?" She blinked, shocked by her friend's sudden confession.

Seeing his friend speechless and lost for the first time in a long time, Nick forged ahead. "It's finally out there, alright? I love you, and have for years!" Judy didn't even blink as Nick banged a fist against the side of her precious craft. "I worry every time the post comes, that I might hear about some fiery crash with your plane! I worry about you up there with no-one to help you, to… No-one to run you back to the hospital!" Nick's eyes clenched shut as he took a shuddering breath. "And now you're heading off to fight in some war?" Judy bit back a gasp as her fox's emerald gaze reappeared, tears threatening to spill. Even her extraordinary hearing had a difficult time catching Nick's next words. "Why, Judy?"

"I… it… Because it's who I am!" Judy felt lost as the words tumbled from her lips, unimpeded. "It's who I've been for the past six years, it's who I've always wanted to be! It's what I have to do! It's the _right_ thing to do! Do you want me to stand aside while my friends, good folks who I've flown with for years, who've helped me out just as much as I've helped them, go off and die?" Judy blinked, trying to clear the tears from her own eyes. "Die in some battle when I could've saved them?"

Nick broke his gaze away from Judy's, looking instead at the floor as he nodded. "No, you're right… that _is_ who you are, and who I fell in love with… Good ol' Judy Hopps, making the world a better place, no matter the cost."

"So why tell me _now_?"

Nick's fiery gaze pierced into her soul. "Because you might die!" Taking another shuddering breath, he took a step back, composing himself. "I mean… Sure, you were always in danger before, right? But never _really_. I could say, 'she's only up against a couple of untrained pirates' and everything would seem alright. But you're headed off to _war_ , Judy! With skies _filled_ with trained pilots, aiming to gun you down! Don't you get nervous at all?"

Judy tried to muster a confident face, but her bravado was fading quickly. "Well, sure, but they've got nothing on me, right?"

Silence filled the hanger; not a casual silence between friends, as before, but a silence that made itself known, that _demanded_ it be noticed. "Well…" Nick worried at one of the buttons on his shirt, unable to meet Judy's gaze. "Do you at least… do you feel anything for me, like I feel for you?"

Judy blinked in shock, eyes glazing over. "I… I haven't really… I-" Whether it was a blessing or a curse, Judy couldn't say, but at that moment the air-raid sirens cut through the morning air, and off in the distant air-field, she could faintly make out panicked shouting, quickly swallowed by the sounds of planes starting up. "What the…" Judy dashed over to the great hanger door, tugging it open. "We weren't supposed to scramble until tomorrow!"

One of Judy's groundcrew, a stout boar with a jumpsuit labelled 'F. Buckingham', burst through the hanger's side door. "The Preds launched an attack on the coast fifty clicks from here!" Hurriedly, he bustled over to the plane, removing the chocks from in front of the wheels. "We've got to move if we're to help the defense!"

Moving to help his lapin companion with the great doors, Nick paused as he turned to look at Judy. "Judy?"

"What?" the rabbit huffed as she slid the door all the way open.

"Just… be careful, alright?"

The rabbit gazed at the fox, confidence returned now that she was in familiar territory. "I always am, aren't I?"

Not even bothering to conceal his derogatory snort, Nick turned away, heading towards the smaller door he'd come in through. Halfway there, he stopped, turning back. "Oh, I almost forgot." Pulling a small ring out from his pocket, he rolled his eyes as the rabbit gasped. " _Not_ what you think. Your dad asked me to give this to you."

Staring at the ring offered to her for several seconds, ignorant of the chaos around her, Judy reached out with a shaking paw, taking the small band from the fox. "Did… Did he say anything else?"

Nick merely shrugged. "Said you'd know what it means. What is it, anyway?"

Judy took a shuddering breath as her gaze slipped from the fox, back to the ring, and back again. "It was… my mom's… good luck charm. He's… saying that he knows what I'm feeling about all of this, and that I should… I should do what I think's right." Her gaze turned back to the ring as Nick nodded, heading again for the door. "Nick!"

The vulpine turned, gazing once more at his object of affection. "Yeah?"

"I'll…" Judy blinked away the tears in her eyes, hastily wiping her cheeks dry. "Yes. I'll… I'll be careful, alright? We'll… talk more when I get back. Wait for me?" The last was spoken so quietly, Judy was sure that the fox couldn't have heard it, but her assumption changed as he gave her one of his rare, genuine smiles."

"Always."

By the time the pig had finished his duties with the plane, the fox had left and the rabbit hadn't moved, eyes still locked on the small silver band in her paws. "What's that?"

Judy couldn't take her eyes off the ring, turning it over and over in her paws. "It's… it's the ring my dad gave my mom when he proposed… Always said that he wanted me to have it, when the right boy came along." Looking back at the now closed door, she whispered, "It's his way of saying he approves."

* * *

 **A/N**

 **So, first official story based on a song, 'Savior of the Skies' by 'The Cog Is Dead'.**

 **Should clarify: Not necessarily a WW1/2 fic, closer to Steampunk: if you're looking for that, look at Selaxes "Red Tails and Wilde Skies" - seriously, this author is amazing.**


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